Railed vehicle with bodies and at least one chassis

ABSTRACT

A railed vehicle with bodies and at least one chassis is disclosed, rotatably mounted about a vertical axis, whereby rotating coupling elements are provided between chassis and body. At least two tie rods ( 6, 7, 6′, 7′, 27, 28, 29 ) with predetermined spring rate and damping are arranged as torque coupling elements between chassis ( 1, 26 ) and body, with a predetermined separation in the transverse direction of the chassis. The tie rods ( 6, 7, 6′, 7′, 27, 28, 29 ) are each flexibly connected to brackets ( 9 ) on the body, at one end and to a transverse support ( 2 ) of the chassis frame, at the other end. A tie rod ( 6, 7, 6′, 7′, 27, 28 ) comprises a universal housing, with a shell ( 12 ) and end head pieces ( 13, 14 ), which guides a push-/pull-rod ( 11 ), whereby, within said universal housing at least one friction ring set is mounted and which can be operated by a push-/pull-segment ( 18 ) of the push-/pull-rod ( 11 ).

The invention relates to a rail vehicle with a car body and at least onebogie which is mounted for rotating about a vertical axis of rotation.

Multi-unit rail vehicles, such as trams for example, have high wheel setguiding forces of the leading wheel owing to the rotary coupling of thebogie to the car body about the vertical axis of rotation and as aresult of the arrangement of the unit elements of the car body inconjunction with the length of the car overhang of the head assembly andend assembly. These wheel set guiding forces increase as the travelspeed increases and the length of the overhang arc decreases. The wheelset guiding forces can be reduced by elastically adjusting therotational rigidity between the bogie and the car body. The difficultyis to implement the necessary elasticity at the required force level andthe high power density in the limited installation space available.

Generally known rubber metal components which are used as rotarycoupling elements are not sufficiently durable given the requireddensity.

The invention is based on the object of specifying an improved rotarycoupling of the at least one bogie to the car body and a rotary couplingelement suitable for this purpose, for a rail vehicle.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the use of rotarycoupling elements provided between the bogie and car body to providerotary stiffness and rotary damping.

The advantages which can be achieved with the invention consist, inparticular, in the fact that the proposed rotary coupling elementimplements the necessary elasticity at the required high force level andwith the high power density in the limited installation space available,and at the same time has a long service life. In addition to the effectof the spring stiffness, the dynamics of the vehicle are significantlyimproved by the relative movement damping which is achieved. Overall,this significant reduction in the wheel set guiding forces is obtained.The proposed friction rings of the coupling rods implement springstiffness and damping in a single element. However, as an alternative tothis, it is also possible to implement spring stiffness and damping inseparate components (coupling rods). A further alternative to this is toembody the rotary coupling element as a hydraulic suspension and dampingelement.

The coupling rods which are proposed as rotary coupling elementsadditionally perform the function of transmitting the longitudinalforces arising from the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the subclaims.

Further advantages of the proposed rotary coupling elements emerge fromthe following description.

The invention is explained in more detail below by means of theexemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a view of a bogie of a rail vehicle,

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a bogie of a rail vehicle according to FIG.1 (partially sectional),

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section through a coupling rod of a firstembodiment,

FIG. 4 shows a view of a bogie of a rail vehicle which is an alternativeembodiment to the subject matter of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal section through a coupling rod of a secondembodiment.

FIG. 1 is a view of a bogie of a rail vehicle. The bogie 1 has, as isgenerally known, a bogie frame, a transverse carrier of this bogie framebeing designated by the numeral 2. Spring elements 3 of the bogie andthe shafts 4 guided by the bogie with wheels 5 are shown.

According to the invention, two coupling rods 6, 7 with predefinedspring stiffness and predefined damping are provided as rotary couplingelements between the bogie 1 and car body. They are arranged at adistance from one another viewed in the transverse direction of thevehicle. The articulated attachment of these coupling rods 6, 7 iseffected by means of first mounting devices 8 on brackets 9 of the carbody on the one hand and by means of second mounting devices 10 on thetransverse carrier 2 of the bogie frame on the other.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the bogie of the rail vehicle according to FIG.1 (partially sectional). The transverse carrier 2 of the bogie frame orof the bogie 1 with the second mounting device 10, and a bracket 9 ofthe car body with the first mounting device 8 are shown, the couplingrod 6 or 7 being connected in an articulated fashion to both mountingdevices 8, 10. The shafts 4 with wheels 5 are also shown.

FIG. 3 shows a section through a coupling rod 6, 7 of a firstembodiment. The coupling rod 7 has a push/pull rod 11 which is guided ina universal casing. The universal casing is composed essentially of asleeve 12 which is terminated at both ends by means of a first frame end13 and a second frame end 14. The first frame end 13 has an integratedrod guiding means 15 into which the end of the push/pull rod 11 which isthe inner one with respect to the casing engages. A movement space 25 inthe first frame end 13 ensures the free translatory mobility of thepush/pull rod 11. Furthermore, the first frame end 14 has a firstattachment device 16 which is suitable for articulated engagement of thefirst mounting device 8 mentioned above.

The second frame end 14 has a drilled hole for guiding the push/pull rod11. That end of the push/pull rod 11 which engages through this drilledhole has a second attachment device 17 which is suitable for articulatedengagement of the second mounting device 10 mentioned above. The sectionof the push/pull rod 11 which is guided within the universal casing isprovided in the center with a push/pull element 18 which has an outerdiameter which is adapted to the inner diameter of the sleeve 12. Theinner space of the universal casing is divided into two subspaces ofapproximately the same size by the push/pull element 18.

The first outer friction rings or a first outer friction ring set 19 andfirst inner friction rings or a first inner friction ring set 20 arearranged in the first subspace, the two first friction ring sets 19, 20being arranged concentrically in the first subspace and being separatedfrom one another by means of an intermediate sleeve 21. In the same way,second outer friction rings or a second outer friction ring set 22 andsecond inner friction rings or a second inner friction ring set 23 arearranged in the second subspace, the two second friction ring sets 22,23 being arranged concentrically in the second subspace and beingseparated from one another by means of an intermediate sleeve 24.

If owing to the deflection of the bogie 1 or of the bogie frame 2, thecoupling rod 6 or 7 is compressed as in FIG. 3, it makes the movementspace 25 smaller. During this movement the outer friction rings 19 arewidened by the inner friction rings 20 being pushed on by means of thepush/pull element 18, as in the first part ring. The inner frictionrings 20 run along the inclined contact faces and onto the outerfriction rings 19, which leads to the aforementioned widening of thefriction rings 19. As a result, the kinetic energy is converted intothermal energy in the desired way by friction. During this movement ofthe push/pull rod into the movement space 25, the friction rings 22, 23of the second subspace remain unaffected.

If, on the other hand, the push/pull rod 11 according to the drawing ismoved upward, the movement space 25 being made larger, the same effectoccurs at the friction rings or friction ring sets 22, 23 in the secondsubspace as when the rod 11 moves down in the case of the rings 19, 20in the first subspace. The energy conversion from kinetic energy intothermal energy thus takes place in the second subspace. The frictionrings 19 and 20 of the first subspace are not involved here either.

As already mentioned above, the proposed solution preferably providesthat, in addition to the spring stiffness, damping parallel to thespring stiffness has a positive influence on the reduction of the wheelset guiding forces. Desired spring stiffness and desired damping areadvantageously implemented by means of a single structural element, thefriction rings or friction ring sets. This is a very space-saving andweight-saving solution. The friction rings supply the desired springstiffness by virtue of their elastic widening, and the desired dampingas a result of the pushing on associated with friction.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 corresponds here to a variant in whichtwo concentrically arranged friction ring sets are used. With thisvariant the spring force of the coupling rod and respectively of therotary coupling element connected to it can be increased in a desiredfashion. On the other hand, the desired spring travel can be defined byselecting the number of friction rings. Further variants with, in eachcase, just one friction ring set in both directions of movement (springdirections) or with more than two concentrically arranged friction ringsets in both directions of movement can be implemented in the same way.Further variants are obtained by not providing a complete set offriction elements for each spring direction but alternatively usingdual-action friction rings.

Overall, the desired spring characteristic curve can thus be set in avariable way in a universal casing by selecting the type and number offriction rings, it being possible to act on the available installationspace in a variable fashion in each case by the arrangement of thefriction rings (concentric or non-concentric, with a single action ordual action). This variability which is achieved is very useful becausedifferent spring characteristic curves which are appropriately adjustedfor different vehicles are necessary owing to changes in the geometryand the mass distribution of the vehicle. For example, a springcharacteristic curve may be required in which the final force isincreased with a greater spring travel. On the other hand, for adifferent application case it may be necessary for the final force to bereduced with a longer spring travel. All the combinations of springtravel in relation to final force can thus be implemented, i.e. theinvention permits these different requirements which are specific forrespective application cases to be met in a cost-saving way.

To prestress the friction rings it is possible to use slotted frictionrings or an additional helical spring. The slotted friction rings arefriction rings which are not closed in the circumferential direction butare rather slotted. The helical spring would be arranged centrically onboth sides around the push/pull rod 11 in the space between thepush/pull rod 11 and the inner friction rings (friction ring set 23) inthe axial direction.

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a rail vehicle with an alternative design.In contrast to the bogie 1 according to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the bogie 26coupling rods 6′, 7′, 27 and 28 are in turn arranged spaced apart withrespect to the transverse direction of the vehicle as rotary couplingelements between the bogie 26 and car body. The coupling rods 6′ and 7′are conventional dampers here with which the aimed-for damping isachieved. The desired spring stiffness is implemented by means of knownspring elements 27, 28 such as helical springs, plate springs or thelike. These coupling rods 6′, 7′, 27, 28 are in turn coupled to bracketsof the car body by means of the first mounting devices on the one handand to the transverse carrier of the vehicle frame by means of secondmounting devices on the other.

FIG. 5 illustrates a section through a coupling rod of a secondembodiment. This coupling rod 29, which can be used instead of thecoupling rod 6, 7 with their friction rings, is hydraulically active andhas an outer casing 30, a pull casing 31, a push casing 32, a fluidcasing 33 and a push/pull rod 34 with piston 35. The inner space whichis bounded by the fluid casing 33 and piston base is filled with fluid36 which can be compressed within certain limits. A low-viscositysilicone or a high-viscosity rubber may be used as the fluid 36. Thearticulated attachment devices on the push/pull rod and casing, whichattachment devices are suitable for mounting on the bogie and car body,are embodied as in FIG. 3. This coupling rod thus in turn implementsdamping and spring stiffness in a single structural element.

1 Bogie 2 Transverse carrier of the bogie frame 3 Spring element 4 Shaft5 Wheel 6 Coupling rod 7 Coupling rod 8 First mounting device 9 Bracketof car body 10 Second mounting device 11 Push/pull rod 12 Sleeve 13First frame end 14 Second frame end 15 Rod guiding means 16 Firstattachment device 17 Second attachment device 18 Push/pull element 19First outer friction ring set 20 First inner friction ring set 21Intermediate sleeve 22 Second outer friction ring set 23 Second innerfriction ring set 24 Intermediate sleeve 25 Movement space 26 Bogie 27Coupling rod (spring element) 28 Coupling rod (spring element) 29Hydraulically acting coupling rod 30 Outer casing 31 Pull casing 32 Pushcasing 33 Fluid casing 34 Push/pull rod 35 Piston 36 Fluid

1. A rail vehicle with a car body and at least one bogie which ismounted for rotating about a vertical axis of rotation, rotary couplingelements being provided between the bogie and car body, wherein therotary coupling elements comprise at least two telescopic couplingswhich are arranged at a distance from one another in the transversedirection of the vehicle and which have a predefined spring stiffnessand damping, each of the telescopic couplings having a first and secondend spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction.
 2. Therail vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predefined springstiffness and the damping of the rotary coupling elements areimplemented by means of separate components.
 3. The rail vehicle asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the telescopic couplings are attached, ineach case in an articulated fashion, to brackets of the car body on theone hand and to a transverse carrier of the bogie frame on the other. 4.The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of thetelescopic couplings has a universal casing comprising a sleeve andframe ends at the ends, the universal casing guiding a push/pull rod, atleast one friction ring set, which can be actuated by means of apush/pull element of the push/pull rod, being mounted within theuniversal casing.
 5. The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein atleast one of the friction rings sets comprises a dual-action frictionring set.
 6. The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein at leastone of the friction ring sets comprises at least two friction rings setswhich are each single-action friction ring sets.
 7. The rail vehicle asclaimed in claim 5, wherein at least one of the friction ring setscomprises at least two concentrically arranged friction ring sets. 8.The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one of thefriction ring sets comprises a helical spring for prestressing thefriction rings.
 9. The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein atleast one of the friction ring sets comprises slotted friction rings forprestressing the friction rings.
 10. The rail vehicle as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the telescopic couplings comprises hydraulically actingcoupling rods.
 11. The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein thetelescopic couplings include a fluid which can be compressed withincertain limits and which is located in an interior space which isbounded by a fluid casing and a piston of a push/pull rod.
 12. A railvehicle with a car body and at least one bogie which is mounted forrotating about a vertical axis of rotation, comprising at least twocoupling elements spaced apart in the transverse direction of thevehicle, a first end of the coupling elements having an articulatedconnection to the car body and a second end of the coupling elementshaving an articulated connection to the bogie, the coupling elementshaving a predefined spring stiffness and damping acting substantially ina longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
 13. The rail vehicle as claimedin claim 12, wherein the first end of the coupling elements are attachedto brackets connected to the car body and the second end of the couplingrods are attached to a transverse carrier of the bogie frame.
 14. Therail vehicle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the coupling rods comprisea compressible structure wherein compression of the coupling elemtentsis controlled by at least one friction ring set.
 15. The rail vehicle asclaimed in claim 12, wherein the coupling rods comprise a extendabletelescopic structure wherein extension of the coupling elements iscontrolled by at least one fiction ring set.
 16. The rail vehicle asclaimed in claim 15, wherein at least one of the friction ring setscomprises at least two concentrically arranged friction ring sets. 17.The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 15, wherein at least one of thefriction ring sets comprises a helical spring for prestressing thefriction rings.
 18. The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 15, wherein atleast one of the friction ring sets comprises slotted friction rings forprestressing the friction rings.
 19. The rail vehicle as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the coupling elements comprise hydraulically actingcoupling elements containing a fluid which can be compressed withincertain limits.
 20. The rail vehicle as claimed in claim 12, comprisingwherein the predefined spring stiffness and the damping of the rotarycoupling elements are implemented by means of separate components.
 21. Arail vehicle with a car body and at least one bogie which is mounted forrotating about a vertical axis of rotation, rotary coupling elementsbeing provided between the bogie and car body to provide rotarystiffness and rotary damping, wherein the rotary coupling elementscomprise at least two telescopic couplings which: extend in thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle, are articulated to the vehiclebody and to the bogie, are arranged at a distance from one another inthe transverse direction of the vehicle, and have a predefined springstifftncss and damping.